Fresh snow
by Hanni102
Summary: Aragorn and Legolas set out for a minor spying mission near Mirkwood that turns into a fight for survival.
1. Chapter 1

-What?- a flash of dark brown hair amongst the sea of snow. A whistling wind was blowing, making it hard to hear anything at all.

-I said- Legolas repeated as loud as he could with his scarf wrapped around his mouth - you need to watch that branch!-

Aragorn's horse danced, being stopped abruptly. He turned it around, now facing the elf. He was dressed in many layers of cloaks and furs, still, his complexion was pale out of cold. The light was beginning to turn gray, forecasting a long night. The last bits of sunshine got caught in the ice crystals formed from his breath on the scarf.

-It's getting colder- he said, looking into the elf's blue eyes.

-Aye. At least it's not snowing anymore.- the mumbled answer.

-It's still about two days until we get home-

-True- a short silence.

-But we can make it one if only you're convinced you're faster than me- Aragorn said, glancing over to his friend. Legolas smiled and his horse leaped forth. Aragorn let out a cry of joy and followed. Legolas laughed, at the ice cold air hitting his face, the ground, trees and snow melting into the sky, at the dizziness in his head.

-Victory is mine tonight!- Aragorn shouted and hurried his horse. They raced through the white fields, not noticing the fall of night.

They were returning from a patrol around Mirkwood. King Thranduil sent them off to check the rumors about a pack of bandits near the northern border. For a week they had been tracing the pack famous for its cruel and fearless leader, a man from Laketown called Gilian.

Tales of whole villages slaughtered and burnt, for nothing but his sick satisfaction were loud in Laketown and its surroundings. The elves did't fear him- he wasn't foolish enough to enter Mirkwood. Yet he could still be a threat to smaller groups patrolling the borders or to the people trading with the woodland elves.

Six days after leaving, they still had found nothing. After deciding to move out of the Great Forest and to look for the pack in the sparce woods surrounding it, they met a messenger from Mirkwood who told them that Gilian had been sighted on the southern border- over a one week ride away from them. Aragorn and Legolas decided to take the longer way around Mirkwood, on the other side of the Anduin and near the Misty Mountains. It was a great thing to be able to speak loudly again, after the whole week spent whispering.

-I thought you'd never catch up!- Aragorn had taken down the scarf and hood. His ears and cheeks were flushed from the sharp air. His breath turned into steam right after slipping into the cold night.

The wind had become weaker, it had started to snow lightly, and the delicate snowflakes were melting on his hair. He watched his friend stop his horse and take down the scarf as well. It was an exceptionally quiet night.

-You'd never have won if I hadn't let you!- Legolas laughed. His hood had fallen off as well and revealed a long braid of shiny, almost white hair. Some unruly strands fell on his face which was not at all different from its normal color.

-Oh, of course!- Aragorn laughed. -You've been saying this forever-

-Ha! Sure. Remember who won last time? It sure wasn't you!- Legolas smiled, squinting his eyes and Aragorn snorted as reply and started laughing.

Legolas joined in but suddenly his eyes widened and he put up a finger against his lips. Aragorn understood in a second and listened.

A sound, barely hearable disrupted the silence. Screams and laughter were coming from the direction of a forest far away, far enough for the ones causing it to be invisible to them. Aragorn's eyes darted in the opposite direction.

-Fuck!- he hissed trough his teeth. -We're completely exposed-

While racing, they had entered a completely flat and treeless terrain. Legolas' eyes quickly searched their surroundings for a way of escape, finding nothing. His gaze stopped on the prints they had left in the snow. He didn't say anything, but his eyes were still wide open and he had gone a bit paler.

-How foolish of us- he shook his head in disbelief

-They're a only about an hour away. If we keep going forwards, they will notice us immediately. If we turn west, we won't make it home before they see us.- It was obvious that Aragorn was secretly beating himself up for becoming so reckless. Legolas was calculating every chance of escape they had.

-I'm pretty sure they're making a fire. They won't be on their horses until the sun rises. And if we're lucky, the snow will have covered our traces before then-

Aragorn nodded, biting his lip. -It sounds like there's a lot of them. How could this happen? They were supposed to be on the other side of the woods!-

Legolas shrugged. -Maybe there's two packs and we only knew of one-

-How could we not notice them earlier? They must have been near for a long time-

-The wind turned recently. It was carrying their voices away from us-

-What do we do now?-

-We can't risk going home. It's not going to snow forever. They would notice us sooner or later.- they exchanged a look.

-You're saying we should go in their direction?- Aragorn asked with a calm voice.

-If we make it back to the forest before dawn we stand more chances of getting away than here in this flatland. We could skirt them and ride back the way we came here. Their fires will blind them. There's no moon tonight, we will be invisible. It's a small chance, but bigger than with any other options we have.-

-What if it stops snowing before we get there? They'll have an easy job killing us off.-

-Not as easy as here. I'd rather hide in the forest than be chased-

Aragorn fell silent for a moment before nodding. -Let's go.-

They started riding in the direction of danger.

-Oh, and cover your hair- Aragorn remembered. -You're an easy target-

Both chuckled lightly, partly to convince the other that there was nothing to worry about.

 _Thanks for reading, sorry_ _not sorry_ _for the cliffhanger... It's going to get down in the next chapter. I'm planning to make this a longer fanfiction, so their troubles are definitely not going to disappear soon._

 _Legolas was supposed to be dark-haired, since I like that version of him very much. In the end I decided to make him blonde, it just fit this story better._

 _See you in the next chapter!_


	2. Chapter 2

With the wind having calmed, every sound surrounding them was now much more hearable to them. And the other way around- they were sure every move they made could lead to them being detected. That's why they rode carefully and slowly, even though they were quite a bit away from the noises.

-They must be stupid not to have set out any guards…- Aragorn whispered hoarsely.

-I wouldn't be that sure… look- the elf nodded in the direction of the woods, where a dark silhouette was slightly moving, not enough to be seen by human eyes.

-Did he see us yet?-

-It's too dark for him-

-We'll have to kill him-

They fell silent again. The man was stirring, visibly uncomfortable on the hard ground. He hadn't spotted the two riders, otherwise he would be sitting calm as a rock. Legolas reached for his bow and nocked an arrow. He drew carefully and started to aim.

-Wait- Aragorn put his hand on the elf's shoulder in a panicked move. Legolas glanced over to his friend without putting down the weapon at first, but then saw what his friend meant. The man they had seen at the edge of the forest stopped to move and whistled, not expecting the sound he made to be heard by the elf's sensitive ears. Then he disappeared in the forest.

-He gave a signal. Do you think he saw me aiming?- Legolas asked while putting away the weapon.

-He's too far away… he couldn't have. But that's what I thought before he even saw us… he can't be human-

-Well, if he's an elf then we're dead. I could see him very well- Legolas wrinkled his forehead.

-Nothing's lost yet… we might as well be some merchants travelling to Laketown…-

-Let's pray they don't think us to be. Money is what they're after-

A silence fell and it was deadly indeed, as both of the two friends saw no way to get out of this situation alive. They waited in total silence. None of them dared to talk so as not to chase away any thought the other one might have.

-I'll be your hostage- Legolas whispered suddenly.

-What? They'll n- Aragorn tried to protest

-They'll notice I'm an elf. If you introduce yourself as some kind of a bandit they might let you team up with them- Legolas interrupted.

-What about y-

-They won't touch me if I'm YOUR hostage… just don't name the price you'll get for me too high or they'll kill you. Now quickly, make us look like the lie we're going to tell-

Aragorn nodded and took over Legolas' reins while the elf was disarming himself. The elf handed over all of his weapons and his leathern arm-guard to his friend, who quickly put it on and took the string off the bow. He then strapped it to his saddle together with the arrows. Legolas' knives disappeared in Aragorn's saddlebag. The last thing the elf did was let his hair down.

-I'm not from Mirkwood. Else they'll know immediately who I am based on my hair. Please act convincingly- Legolas said while offering his white wrists to Aragorn.

-Quiet- the dark-haired barked back and tied his friend's hands tightly with a leather strap that he attacked to the saddle as well. Legolas nodded as Aragorn looked at him.

The watchman had already returned to their sight, now on horseback and with four other men. They were riding towards them in a crazy pace, still it took about six minutes for them to approach.

-Oi, you there!- one of the five riders coming at them shouted through the distance. The men were all heavily armed, two arrows were pointed at the two friends. The group surrounded them and the man who looked most important rode out closer towards them.

-Who are you?- the man asked. He couldn't be older than 23, and yet his body was extremely sturdy, almost stiff. His shoulder-length, greasy, black hair was falling into his dark eyes that appeared to be unnaturally small in his wide face.

Aragorn waited a second before replying. -They call me Daw. I'm returning to Lake Town.

-From where?- the leader huffed.

-Rohan- Aragorn answered without hesitation.

-Who's that with you?- the black-haired nodded into Legolas' direction who was looking down on the earth.

-Caught him near Lorien. Was away on his own. Got someone in Lake Town that will pay for one of his kind-

-It's a weird thing Gilian's pack did't get across of you…- The man mumbled while inspecting them critically, then turned around to face the way he had come from.

-You're coming with me. Elric will want to hear you out and then decide what to do with you-.

With these words, the men formed an escort around Aragorn and Legolas. They started to ride towards the pack's camp.

After some time, Aragorn glanced towards Legolas. Their eyes met for a split second. It was clear now- Gilian and his group had split up and the friends were

just about to encounter the other group; there was no way to escape.

* * *

 _Guys, guys, guys! I'm starting to get excited myself. This chapter is short, yes, but still nice I hope. The next chapter will get your blood pumping; brace yourselves!_


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